An expenses scandal erupted in Iraq on Friday after religious leaders hit out at how members of parliament (MPs) secured themselves numerous lavish perks while failing to ensure the nation’s general election goes ahead.
Clerics said parliamentarians had approved legislation guaranteeing diplomatic passports for them and their families, as well as land and generous salaries and pensions, instead of ensuring a stalled electoral bill is passed.
Iraq’s presidential council, which normally rubber stamps legislation, said this week it twice opposed MPs’ attempts to secure the privileges but had been powerless to stop the law being approved at its third reading.
Under the law, an MP will have a monthly budget of around US$25,500, which includes a salary of US$8,450 and allowances for up to 30 staff, primarily security.
They will receive 80 percent of their MP salary as a pension for 10 years after they retire, as well as a plot of land of up 600m2, Baha al-Araji, a Sadrist MP and chair of the parliamentary committee responsible for shaping legislation said.
“Why is there not such unanimity on the election law?” cleric Sadr al-Din al-Qubanj asked, referring to legislation designed to regulate national polls planned for Jan. 16, which could yet be delayed because of parliamentary stalemate.
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Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
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